The Langston Hughes Project Comes to CWU!

The Langston Hughes Project Comes to CWU!

Nearly 50 years after the famous American poet Langston Hughes’ death, his long-lost synergy of poetry and jazz music is brought back to life through the multimedia performance, The Langston Hughes Project. The concert performance of Hughes’ famous jazz poem, “Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz” features the jazz group The Ron McCurdy Quartet, spoken-word poetry and images from the Harlem Renaissance.

Hughes was a Harlem Renaissance poet, writer and activist who changed literature with his jazz poetry. Hughes’ piece, “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz” was his tribute to the struggle for artistic and social freedom for Africans and African-Americans in the 1960s not only in America but all over the world. The piece was originally intended to be in collaboration with jazz musicians Charles Mingus and Randy Weston, however Hughes’ passing in 1967 left the piece in the planning stages.

The music, spoken-word and imagery video representing the work of Hughes makes for a promising eventful performance TONIGHT at 7pm in the SURC Theatre! Here is a little sneak-peak of what to expect!